Lake Mary man sues Winn-Dixie over rose thorn prick

May 26, 2011|By Rene Stutzman, Orlando Sentinel

SANFORD — A 41-year-old Lake Mary man is suing Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., saying it and a grower should pay him $15,000 because when he bought roses at a Lake Mary Winn-Dixie three months ago, a thorn pricked his hand.

Charles B. Imwalle, a fishing guide, asks for compensatory and special damages, alleging that he suffered pain, disfigurement, medical bills and lost wages.

He would not say Wednesday why he is asking for so much money.

On Thursday, his attorney, Paul M. Thompson of Altamonte Springs, explained in an email, saying the wound got infected and that within 24 hours, Iwalle's hand had swelled to triple its size. He went to the hospital, had to have surgery and piled up more than $45,000 in medical bills.

Iwalle also suffered $5,500 in lost earnings, Thompson wrote.

Iwalle filed suit, Thompson wrote, because if the thorn hadn't pricked Iwalle's hand, there'd have been no infection.

The defendants should have stripped thorns from the flowers, wrapped the stems more carefully and used an antibacterial solution in its display buckets, according to the suit.

Sam Ferrara, founder of Passion Growers, insisted the flowers, which come from Colombia, are sterilized.

"We've been doing this 20 years," Ferrara said. "We've never, never had anything like this where anyone has gotten an infection by a thorn prick."